By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index fell for a fourth straight session on Friday, extending its 2011 losses as lower commodity prices and a fire in the Alberta oil sands pulled down oil and other resource shares.
Oil company Canadian Natural Resources fell 5.47 percent to C$40.60 after a fire late on Thursday halted production at its 110,000-barrel-a-day oil sands project.
The energy group, which accounts for more than a quarter of the index, led declines, dropping 1.1 percent as U.S. crude oil futures ended the first week of the year with the biggest weekly percentage loss in nearly five months.
Suncor Energy, Canada's biggest oil company, was off 0.43 percent at C$36.98.
The index's materials group, home to gold miners, fell 0.64 percent. Goldcorp was down 1.02 percent at C$42.50, while Barrick Gold declined 0.77 percent to C$48.69.
Gold prices suffered their longest losing streak in seven months, sliding more than 3 percent this week and falling for a fifth day on Friday after U.S. December jobs data failed to spark safe-haven demand.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 39.37 points, or 0.3 percent, at 13,272.30. For the week, the index fell 1.27 percent.
'We're under a little bit of pressure today, but I don't think it's anything disastrous,' said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod.
'In the U.S., significant disappointment continues to plague their economy...problems in the United States continue and we need to be aware of the fallout that will continue to come from our southern neighbors.'
Tempering the index's losses was a 0.37 percent gain in financial issues, which got a lift from data that showed the Canadian economy created more jobs than expected in December.
Royal Bank of Canada was up 0.79 percent at C$52.02, while Bank of Nova Scotia gained 0.68 percent to close at C$56.25. Toronto Dominion Bank rose 0.51 percent to C$74.20
'There are a couple of factors that might be creeping in on the back of today's data to impede gains in the short term: those would be the stronger loonie and concerns about potential rate hikes by the Bank of Canada in the months ahead,' said Elvis Picardo, analyst and strategist at Global Securities.
'You couple that with the fact that we've had an exceptional run since December and it's not surprising to see a minor selloff.'
A Reuters poll on Friday showed most of Canada's primary securities dealers expect the Bank of Canada to resume raising interest rates in the first half of this year.
In individual company news, pharmacy chain Jean Coutu Group , which reported a higher quarterly profit that topped expectations, fell 0.93 percent to C$9.57. The company said it will feel the first impact of Quebec's drug sales reform initiatives this quarter.
($1=$0.99 Canadian)
(Reporting by Solarina Ho; editing by Peter Galloway) ============================================================== FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: TSX market report........................................ Canadian dollar and bonds report................... Top News: Canada .................................... Today in Canada..................................... Canada earnings schedule............................. Canadian company news ................................ Reuters global stocks poll (Canada)................ FOR CANADIAN MARKETS DATA, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: Canadian Equities speed guide...................... S&P/TSX Composite index ............................. S&P/TSE Venture composite index ..................... TSX most active....................................... Venture Exchange most active........................... Top TSX pct gainers................................... Top TSX pct losers.................................... S&P/TSX 60 index ..................................... 52 week highs: TSX............... Venture.............. 52 week lows: TSX............... Venture.............. Canadian dollar quote..................... FOR MAIN GLOBAL MARKET DATA AND MARKET REPORTS: FTSE EUROTOP 300 ..... EUROPEAN REPORT ....... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices..................................... Global markets report............................ Foreign exchange...................................... Oil.................................................... US Treasuries.......................................... International bonds................................... Gold....................................... or CRB index of commodity futures........................ Keywords: MARKETS CANADA/STOCKS (solarina.ho@thomsonreuters.com;+1 416 941 8067; Reuters Messaging: solarina.ho.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
TORONTO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index fell for a fourth straight session on Friday, extending its 2011 losses as lower commodity prices and a fire in the Alberta oil sands pulled down oil and other resource shares.
Oil company Canadian Natural Resources fell 5.47 percent to C$40.60 after a fire late on Thursday halted production at its 110,000-barrel-a-day oil sands project.
The energy group, which accounts for more than a quarter of the index, led declines, dropping 1.1 percent as U.S. crude oil futures ended the first week of the year with the biggest weekly percentage loss in nearly five months.
Suncor Energy, Canada's biggest oil company, was off 0.43 percent at C$36.98.
The index's materials group, home to gold miners, fell 0.64 percent. Goldcorp was down 1.02 percent at C$42.50, while Barrick Gold declined 0.77 percent to C$48.69.
Gold prices suffered their longest losing streak in seven months, sliding more than 3 percent this week and falling for a fifth day on Friday after U.S. December jobs data failed to spark safe-haven demand.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 39.37 points, or 0.3 percent, at 13,272.30. For the week, the index fell 1.27 percent.
'We're under a little bit of pressure today, but I don't think it's anything disastrous,' said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod.
'In the U.S., significant disappointment continues to plague their economy...problems in the United States continue and we need to be aware of the fallout that will continue to come from our southern neighbors.'
Tempering the index's losses was a 0.37 percent gain in financial issues, which got a lift from data that showed the Canadian economy created more jobs than expected in December.
Royal Bank of Canada was up 0.79 percent at C$52.02, while Bank of Nova Scotia gained 0.68 percent to close at C$56.25. Toronto Dominion Bank rose 0.51 percent to C$74.20
'There are a couple of factors that might be creeping in on the back of today's data to impede gains in the short term: those would be the stronger loonie and concerns about potential rate hikes by the Bank of Canada in the months ahead,' said Elvis Picardo, analyst and strategist at Global Securities.
'You couple that with the fact that we've had an exceptional run since December and it's not surprising to see a minor selloff.'
A Reuters poll on Friday showed most of Canada's primary securities dealers expect the Bank of Canada to resume raising interest rates in the first half of this year.
In individual company news, pharmacy chain Jean Coutu Group , which reported a higher quarterly profit that topped expectations, fell 0.93 percent to C$9.57. The company said it will feel the first impact of Quebec's drug sales reform initiatives this quarter.
($1=$0.99 Canadian)
(Reporting by Solarina Ho; editing by Peter Galloway) ============================================================== FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: TSX market report........................................ Canadian dollar and bonds report................... Top News: Canada .................................... Today in Canada..................................... Canada earnings schedule............................. Canadian company news ................................ Reuters global stocks poll (Canada)................ FOR CANADIAN MARKETS DATA, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: Canadian Equities speed guide...................... S&P/TSX Composite index ............................. S&P/TSE Venture composite index ..................... TSX most active....................................... Venture Exchange most active........................... Top TSX pct gainers................................... Top TSX pct losers.................................... S&P/TSX 60 index ..................................... 52 week highs: TSX............... Venture.............. 52 week lows: TSX............... Venture.............. Canadian dollar quote..................... FOR MAIN GLOBAL MARKET DATA AND MARKET REPORTS: FTSE EUROTOP 300 ..... EUROPEAN REPORT ....... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices..................................... Global markets report............................ Foreign exchange...................................... Oil.................................................... US Treasuries.......................................... International bonds................................... Gold....................................... or CRB index of commodity futures........................ Keywords: MARKETS CANADA/STOCKS (solarina.ho@thomsonreuters.com;+1 416 941 8067; Reuters Messaging: solarina.ho.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.